”Firework device” explodes outside US Embassy in China

Reuters
BEIJING |
Updated on
July 26, 2018
Published on
July 26, 2018

A police officer is seen near the US embassy in Beijing, China.
- Reuters

Slightly hurts the 26-year-old male suspect

A suspected “firework device” exploded outside the US Embassy in Beijing on Thursday wounding the 26-year-old male suspect and no one else, police said.

The embassy, in a separate statement, described the device as a bomb. It said police had responded but did not offer further details. Police said only the suspect was wounded, suffering an injury to his hand.

The state-run Global Times newspaper said earlier police took away a woman who sprayed herself with gasoline in what was suspected to be a self-immolation attempt outside the embassy.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report, but witnesses told Reuters that they heard an explosion near the US Embassy and felt tremors. One of the witnesses said there were seven to eight police vehicles near the embassy. A Reuters witness saw Chinese police examining a vehicle outside the embassy and social media showed pictures of smoke close to where people line up outside the compound for visa appointments.

The Global Times said on its Twitter account that it was unclear whether there had been an explosion. Staff at the Indian and South Korean embassies near the US compound said they were unaware of any unusual incident and were working as normal. US embassy officials did not immediately comment.